top
The total number of Kashmiri Speakers in India according to 2001 census is 5,527,698.
The Table below shows Mother tongues grouped under Kashmiri Language.
| KASHMIRI | 5,527,698 |
|---|---|
| Kashmiri | 5,362,349 |
| Kishtwari | 33,429 |
| Siraji | 87,179 |
| Others | 44,741 |
The main habitat of Kashmiri speakers are found in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal pradesh and Delhi.
The following list figures out the male/female distribution of Kashmiri speakers in the States and Union Territories of India, as per 2001 census.
| India/State/Union Territory# | Persons | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|---|
| India* | 5,527,698 | 2,860,097 | 2,667,601 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 5,425,733 | 2,804,306 | 2,621,427 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 50,192 | 26,695 | 23,497 |
| Delhi# | 21,325 | 11,204 | 10,121 |
| Maharashtra | 5,344 | 2,902 | 2,442 |
| Uttaranchal | 4,175 | 2,261 | 1,914 |
| Haryana | 3,717 | 2,050 | 1,667 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 3,153 | 1,773 | 1,380 |
| Punjab | 2,411 | 1,717 | 694 |
| Chandigarh# | 1,677 | 961 | 716 |
| Karnataka | 1,586 | 911 | 675 |
| Rajasthan | 1,554 | 900 | 654 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1,116 | 615 | 501 |
| West Bengal | 1,084 | 824 | 260 |
| Gujarat | 992 | 516 | 476 |
| Bihar | 930 | 521 | 409 |
| Goa | 472 | 367 | 105 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 380 | 204 | 176 |
| Assam | 358 | 320 | 38 |
| Tamil Nadu | 277 | 163 | 114 |
| Jharkhand | 255 | 165 | 90 |
| Kerala | 183 | 124 | 59 |
| Tripura | 139 | 133 | 6 |
| Chhattisgarh | 131 | 74 | 57 |
| Orissa | 114 | 62 | 52 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 92 | 84 | 8 |
| Meghalaya | 84 | 69 | 15 |
| Manipur * | 79 | 75 | 4 |
| Nagaland | 71 | 51 | 20 |
| Sikkim | 36 | 24 | 12 |
| Pondicherry# | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| Daman & Diu# | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands# | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Mizoram | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli# | 5 | 4 | 1 |
The following List gives a picture of rural/urban distribution of Kashmiri speakers in the States and Union Territories of India, as per 2001 census.
| India/State/Union Territory# | Persons | Rural | Urban |
|---|---|---|---|
| India* | 5,527,698 | 3,979,193 | 1,548,505 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 5,425,733 | 3,921,995 | 1,503,738 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 50,192 | 47,577 | 2,615 |
| Delhi# | 21,325 | 1,781 | 19,544 |
| Maharashtra | 5,344 | 329 | 5,015 |
| Uttaranchal | 4,175 | 3,440 | 735 |
| Haryana | 3,717 | 938 | 2,779 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 3,153 | 209 | 2,944 |
| Punjab | 2,411 | 618 | 1,793 |
| Chandigarh# | 1,677 | 16 | 1,661 |
| Karnataka | 1,586 | 35 | 1,551 |
| Rajasthan | 1,554 | 593 | 961 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1,116 | 41 | 1,075 |
| West Bengal | 1,084 | 263 | 821 |
| Gujarat | 992 | 127 | 865 |
| Bihar | 930 | 385 | 545 |
| Goa | 472 | 101 | 371 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 380 | 47 | 333 |
| Assam | 358 | 186 | 172 |
| Tamil Nadu | 277 | 17 | 260 |
| Jharkhand | 255 | 28 | 227 |
| Kerala | 183 | 59 | 124 |
| Tripura | 139 | 110 | 29 |
| Chhattisgarh | 131 | 10 | 121 |
| Orissa | 114 | 32 | 82 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 92 | 58 | 34 |
| Meghalaya | 84 | 64 | 20 |
| Manipur * | 79 | 74 | 5 |
| Nagaland | 71 | 20 | 51 |
| Sikkim | 36 | 26 | 10 |
| Pondicherry# | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Daman & Diu# | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands# | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Mizoram | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli# | 5 | 3 | 2 |
The table below shows the decennial growth of Kashmiri speakers in 4 consecutive census.
| Year | Kashmiri Speakers | Decadal Percentage Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 2,495,487 | - |
| 1981 | 3,176,975 | 27.31 |
| 1991 | # | ** |
| 2001 | 5,527,698 | ** |
# Full figures for kashmiri for 1991 are not available as the census was not conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in 1991 due to disturbed conditions.
Almost 96% of the total Kashmiri speaking populations profess Islam as their religion. The rest of the population is Hindus, mainly belonging to Shaivait sect of Hinduism. This population comprise of Brahmin caste, locally known as bata or pandit.The following table shows the Male-Female/ Rural- urban distribution of Kashmiri speakers in India, as per 2001 census.
| Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 5,527,698 | 2,860,097 | 2,667,601 |
| Rural | 3,979,193 | 2,045,945 | 1,933,248 |
| Urban | 1,548,505 | 814,152 | 734,353 |
Copyright CIIL-India Mysore